Monthly Archives: October 2014

Ebola Phishing Scams and Malware Campaigns

Computer Security

As it is usual with phishing scams and malware campaigns, a trending topic is used to attract attention. In this case the Ebola virus disease, a subject that has spiked public interest recently, is being used as a theme.

Therefore, beware of suspicious emails with Ebola mentioned in the subject or body of the email. Such emails may contain links used to direct users to websites which collect personal information or contain malicious attachments that can infect a computer.

The best way to protect yourself against such attempts is to

1. Do not follow unsolicited web links or attachments in email messages.

2. Maintain up-to-date antivirus software. See this article for my ideal security set up for a computer.

3. Contact a computer security expert if you suspect you have fallen victim of a phishing scam or malware campaign.

 

The Next Microsoft Operating System, my First Impression

Technical Tips

As stated in my last article, on September 30th the next Windows Operating System was unveiled – Windows 10. Why was 9 skipped (Windows 8.1 is the latest released so far) has been speculated but bottom line, who cares. Windows 10 is the name of the next one. It is set to be officially released to the general public at some point next year – my educated guess would be fall next year.

So that everyone gets the idea of why the time lapse between the unveiling and the release to the general public, these are the stages the operating system evolution go through:

1. Technical preview – The early stage of beta testing. Unfinished and rough.

2. Beta testing – The stage where the operating system is tested and feedback provided to the developers in order to handle bugs and improve features.

3. Release candidate – A likely-to-be final-version result of the beta testing.

4. Release to manufacturing – when it’s ready for mass distribution to end users.

5. General availability – self-explanatory.

A technical preview of Windows 10 was released yesterday, the day after the unveiling, aimed at experts who want to get a flavor of what’s it going to be like and who want to provide feedback to Microsoft to help shape features the final version will have.

Like many other experts,  yesterday morning I was constantly refreshing the website page that was supposed to contain the Technical Preview download link, scheduled for a 9 AM PDT release. Once the link in the page went live, I downloaded it, installed it, and took a look.

I don’t intend to post a detailed review at this point, mostly because at this stage there might be a considerable difference between what has been released and the final version.  But I will say this as a first impression: Like it less than Windows 7, more than Windows 8. But it definitely has potential. More detailed reviews on Windows 10 as it develops will follow over the next few months.